CadLights 39G Signature

[Oscar]

On Feb 4th I put in my order for a CadLights 39G Signature series plus cabinet. This is an all-in-one made in Brooklyn NY.

Since I have reaped a lot of benefits from others posting their tank builds and journals I will reciprocate in my own way by tracking my build here.

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On Feb 20th the two packages were picked up by UPS. I have been provided with two tracking numbers. Both tracking numbers show the packages being picked up on Feb 20th. One package shows it leaving the UPS depot in New Jersey on Feb 22. It also shows that the final destination is Summerland. The 2nd package does not show leaving New Jersey or the ultimate destination.

Those of you experienced with UPS tracking - Is the web tracking reliable and meaningful? Or should I just await the phone call when it comes across the border?

[mseepman]

For now Oscar, I would probably wait it out as there is little that you can do until they arrive differently than when they were shipped (ie: 1 box instead of 2) UPS won't help you without initial delivery occuring.

[Oscar]

Well the stand arrived on Thursday by UPS that is 7 days from Brooklyn. Using UPS website their anticipated delivery time is 8 days. Unfortunately it turns out their website tracking is not reliable, it still shows the stand as being in Brooklyn.

Unfortunately there was some damage in shipment. But Eddie at CadLights is in the process of finding me replacement parts.

UPS attempted to deliver the tank on Friday but I was not here to pay the brokerage and tax bill. Hopefully I will be able to pick it up from their depot some time next week. Their web tracking of the tank was very good. The tracking system showed all of the stops that it made over the last week.

[mseepman]

Oscar, what's the latest news? You must have got your tank by now.

[Oscar]

I picked up the tank on Wednesday morning from the local UPS delivery guy.

Today I set up the tank on my work bench and tested all of the components. I discovered that the skimmer has a broken piece that results in no skimming. The nipple that draws air into the skimmer pump was broken off. Otherwise everything else seems ok, no water leaks. I will let it run for a few days.

So now I am awaiting replacement parts for the aquarium stand and the skimmer.

But I am still very happy with my selection. It's right purtty.

I will just have to wait a few weeks more until I actually can add water and salt and get things moving forward.

[mseepman]

Good to hear...I thought I might have influenced you a little in the CADLIGHTS direction and I didn't want to hear that it was a nightmare.

Next time I'm in Summerland, we'll have to connect so I can see this beauty.

Remember, you should be documenting this on camera so you can do a build thread.

[Oscar]

I set up my Cad tank yesterday. As a newbie it is a little frustrating that with 4 rear chambers CadLights did not give any guidance on how to use them.

Hopefully you can see this image. I turned on only the actinics to reduce the reflection. So from left to right, while viewing from the rear, how do you suggest using these 4 chambers?

#1. This is shipped with bioballs installed. I was thinking of using these temporarily to get the bacteria count up as quickly as possible. If they are repacked in a mesh bag then they could all be removed and replaced wtih live rock rubble. 4" X 5" X 15" = 1.3G

#2. This appears designed for the skimmer. Someone suggested the UV light could also be installed in here. Although I am questioning using the UV light. It would kill both good and bad guys equally? 5.75" X 5" X 16" = 1.9G

#3. Refugium? The refugium light could be installed to shine from the top down or from the back. It is very deep, how best to utilize a deep refugium?
7" X 5" X 12.5" = 1.9G

#4. Return pump. Install heater here? 4.5" X 5" X15" = 1.5G

#5. (below refugia) 7.5" X 5" X 2" = 0.3G

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh20/prairie56/DSC_3261.jpg

[fencer]

Drill holes in a small covering plater over bioball chamber for better water distribution. I used an old CD cover. UV lamp Just fits into the chamber with the skimmer. I would have liked to put in a better skimmer but not enough room. An additional hydor1 in the tank improves circ alot. With the HQI light on I did not need to add a heater.

[Oscar]

Drill holes in a small covering plater over bioball chamber for better water distribution. I used an old CD cover. UV lamp Just fits into the chamber with the skimmer. I would have liked to put in a better skimmer but not enough room. An additional hydor1 in the tank improves circ alot. With the HQI light on I did not need to add a heater.

Fencer:

Better water distribution for where? Not clear on your concept here.

I was originally looking at the Hydor Nano at 240 gph. Is 400gph better for this tank?

[fencer]

I found that when the water enters the bioball chamber it channels so I put a sieve plate on top of the balls and then the filter mat

[Oscar]

I found that when the water enters the bioball chamber it channels so I put a sieve plate on top of the balls and then the filter mat

I like that idea. There has been discussion that bio balls start to produce nitrates as detritus builds up. What has your experience been?

[fencer]

I have had this tank up since Oct 07. I see no large build up of detritus in the bioballs section. Having said that this tank is run with fish and corals. This tank also has 40lb of LR and a deep sand bed. Nitrates are taken up by the caulerpa in the tank, not in the fuge. I just do a little harvesting when it starts to over grow. The fuge tank needs more light but what it needs more is better internal circulation. To date I have had zero problems.

[mseepman]

Oscar, how is this tank setup going? What are your thoughts? What are you going to put into the tank?

[Oscar]

Oscar, how is this tank setup going? What are your thoughts? What are you going to put into the tank?

I got off to a good running start a few weeks ago when the tank and cabinet arrived. It turned out that two of the supporting cabinet panels were broken.

I have been informed that the panels just left today by FedEx with delivery of March 27th. Seeing that I ordered the tank and cabinet on February 4th I am certainly learning the art of moving slowly in this hobby.

In the meantine I purchased ~35lbs of live Cuban rock from Chris at Interior Reef. I had it bathing in a Rubbermaid tub but I had a problem getting the temperature to stabilize so I moved into the bare bottom tank. (I also purchased live sand, heater, test kit etc. from Chris. Great to have him setting up shop in the valley.)

The tank is perched on my workbench with the rear compartments facing out. That has given me a chance to study the "layout" of the tank and compartments. When the cabinet is constructed then I will tear down this temporary installation and start again at the tank's final placement.

I will take a few photos of the temp setup soon. Everything is running well. I will need to deal with the microbubbles generated by the skimmer and reducing the waterfall sound as water enters the refugium.

Anxously awaiting final installation.

[Oscar]

Well the replacement cabinet parts arrived this afternoon. I have pretty well finished putting the cabinet together. By Sunday I hope to have moved the tank and LR from it's temporary location on my work bench into it's final display location in the house.

I will start posting on a regular basis as the installation proceeds.

Now for a beer.

[mseepman]

Looking forward to seeing it. I'm heading to Summerland tonight Oscar and thought maybe I could check out the tank tomorrow if you're around. I have to head into Oroville to pickup a Hellolights order I made (they won't ship to Canada) in the morning but I should be around later and would love to see the Cad.

[Oscar]

Ok, here we go.

Now that I think I know how to post photos I thought it was time to get back to the journal.

On February 4th I placed an order for the CadLights 39G all-in-one tank plus the cherry cabinet. Since February 5th was the start of shipping for this new tank I had to wait another week for the shipment to leave Brooklyn NY.

After reading all of the notes regarding shipping horror stories I was keeping all of my fingers and toes crossed.

The tank and cabinet were shipped in 2 separate packages via UPS. I tracked them on their website which was indicated that the cabinet was on the way but the tank never left (I think that according to the website it still has not yet left NY).

First to arrive was the cabinet
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh20/prairie56/DSC_3229v5.jpg

Then a few days later the tank and lights arrived.

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh20/prairie56/DSC_3242s.jpg

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh20/prairie56/DSC_3243s.jpg

But even though it looked like the lights had a rough trip it was actually the earlier arrival of the cabinet that was a problem.

[fencer]

You might want to put some support clips on the back to prevent the glass top from falling into the tank

[Oscar]

You might want to put some support clips on the back to prevent the glass top from falling into the tank

Actually the glass top comes with 4 clips that hang off of the lip of the tank. The glass then sits on the clips. Problem is that if you mount the lights on their legs which in turn also sit on the lip of the tank it is very awkward to install the glass lid.

But the glass lid will come in handy if I hang the lights from the ceiling, which I think I will eventually do. The hanging of the lights will give more room for tank maintenance.

[Oscar]

Although the box looked great on the outside somehow UPS damaged two of the cabinet panels. The only way to do that was to have bent the box on a sharp object or is was elevated at both ends during transport.

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh20/prairie56/DSC_3237s.jpg

[Oscar]

So I called Eddie at Cadlights to request replacement panels for the cabinet. I had thought about fiberglassing the cabinet panels but since they are wieght bearing I figured I should at least start with the right components.

So I opened up the box with the aquarium. The signature series comes with the following:
- pin wheel skimmer
- pump
- UV sterilizer
- bio balls
- 2 filter pads
- refugium light
- cooling fan
- lockline
- Hydor 360 degree wavemaker
- glass tank top
- lights with HQI, actinics and LEDs in one box
- (no heater included)

But does not come with installation instructions. For a newbie this is a bit of a problem but it all worked out.

I had never handled a skimmer before so I was perplexed when I opened the box and discovered the air line and a little piece of black plastic in the skimmer cup. After scratching my head for a couple of days I realized that the black piece of plastic was actually the nipple leading from the pump to which the rubber hose is to be attached.

The nipple is that little black thing on the styrofoam.
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh20/prairie56/DSC_3257s.jpg

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh20/prairie56/DSC_3254s.jpg

So I got out the fiberglass epoxy and glued the nipple to the faceplate on the skimmer pump.

[mseepman]

I'm a little dissapointed that "instructions" are not included. You'd think that with all the time they've been doing tanks that they would include something.

Glad to see that your build thread is coming along though. You can bet you'll see me next time I'm in Summerland.

[Oscar]

While I was waiting for the cabinet panels to arrive I decided to set the tank up on my work bench. This gave me a chance to test out all of the equipment and since it is my first SW gave me a chance to figure out how the full package works.

You will see in this photo, although not very well, that there are 4 chambers. First has bioballs, 2nd has the pin wheel skimmer, the 3rd is the refugium and the final has the pump and heater. The UV sterilizer will also fit in here if necessary.

The red tape is my water reference line for top up.

The large foam pads I installed to reduce the microbubbles from the skimmer. I do not have the lights installed at this stage.


http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh20/prairie56/DSC_3274s.jpg


This photo shows the chamber layout a little better.
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh20/prairie56/DSC_3261.jpg

[Oscar]

So of course once the tank was set up and I kind of figured out how everything worked I needed to do something! So I contacted Chris at InteriorReef and he set me up with LR, LS a heater, test kit and a shwack of other stuff.

I started by running the skimmer and rock in a Rubbermaid tub but had a real problem with temperature stability. So I put the live rock in the tank with the skimmer, pump and heater running.


http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh20/prairie56/DSC_3276s.jpg



Then I got the lights setup with timers and went to the Coast for the Easter weekend.

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh20/prairie56/DSC_3269s.jpg


But it turned out the timers were not set properly which meant that my actinics ran for possibly 48hrs straight. That blew one tube and let the algae go wild.

So I went to the local pet store a picked up a couple of hermits and phosphate test kit. You can see the hermits in the lower left. The phosphates are low, although not zero. And the hermits did very quick work on the algae, much more sustantial than I expected.

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh20/prairie56/DSC_3263s.jpg

[Oscar]

When the replacement parts for the cabinet arrived it meant that I had to pack up the current temporary installation, drain the tank, then reinstall in it's final location. First step was transfering the LR and some of the water into the Rubbermaid tub.

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh20/prairie56/DSC_3284s.jpg


Due to the layout of our house I was limited in the number of placement options. This limitation also help lead me to the decision to go with a smaller tank. The photo below shows the final location with water. The light box has not yet been added so that I could add salt.

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh20/prairie56/DSC_3285s.jpg


Then the substrate was added. 20 lbs of live sand and 10lbs of non live. It only took about 6 hours for the water to totally clarify.

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh20/prairie56/DSC_3289s.jpg


Then the live rock was transferred which stirred up some of the sand. No rock scaping as yet. And the hermits were slowly acclimated to the new water.

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh20/prairie56/DSC_3294s.jpg

[mseepman]

Any new updates Oscar?

[Oscar]

Thanks for the reminder, I can't believe my last post is a month old already.

The last photo shows the tank just after I moved it to its final location. Since then I actually did some aquascaping, installed the light canopy and have seen quite a growth in baby feather dusters.

Then over the weekend I visited Interior Reef for some more rocks and critters.

I will try to post some more photos this evening.

[mseepman]

Bump....:)

[Oscar]

My last post in April was just after getting the cabinet constructed and the tank moved to its permanent position.

Next I had to wait for some replacement parts to get the lights up and running again. One of the actinics had blown over the Easter weekend and had burned out one of the sockets. It took a few weeks for the replacement parts to arrive.

Here is what the tank looked like with the lights installed and the actinics in place.

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh20/prairie56/DSC_3301s.jpg




This first batch of rock is Cuban LR that I picked up from Interior Reef. Lots of great shapes, coraline algae, and as it turned out lots of interesting growth, expecially feather dusters.

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh20/prairie56/DSC_3305s.jpg



A couple of weeks ago I went back to Interior Reef to get some additional LR and a couple of more hermits. After a serious rearrangment of the rock the tank now looks like this:

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh20/prairie56/DSC_3313s.jpg

[mseepman]

Looks good. What are your plans for stocking? How do you find the flow in the tank with just the stock return pump?

[Oscar]

Looks good. What are your plans for stocking? How do you find the flow in the tank with just the stock return pump?

Actually if you squint and look real close you can see a Koralia 1 in the centre of the rock. The pump return also has a Hydor rotating water deflector (the poor man's wave maker).

Based on the waving motion of the feather algae that has popped up the tank circulation looks pretty good.

As far as stocking goes I keep changing my mind. So far I have 5 hermits, an urchin and Lester the Lobster. The urchin was embeded in the Selembu rock I purchased from Interior Reef. My wife is from Nova Scotia so picking up Lester was a must, although he is pretty darn shy.

I have a birthday coming up so I have suggested she make the first selection of fish/corals to add. She had a very long look at the Interior Reef tanks a few weeks ago and has some ideas.

But I am always open to suggestions?

[mseepman]

Well, I'm just putting together my first nano as well (about 16 gallons) but I plan it to be an SPS tank for a couple of reasons. One, in the small space you and I have, many softies or LPS corals sting each other if they get in close contact. I have that problem already in my 70G tank where I can't put anything near anything else without the tenticles coming out.
Two, the color combinations of SPS are crazy nice.

I would take a look at Snappy's online sale (Coral Master on here) and think about filling that beauty you have with SPS frags that will color up in every shade. His prices are reasonable and the 8 frags I got from him have all been doing well.

Just my thoughts though. I admit that SPS are tougher to keep in the long run but the rewards just seem that much bigger.

[Oscar]

I would take a look at Snappy's online sale (Coral Master on here) and think about filling that beauty you have with SPS frags that will color up in every shade. His prices are reasonable and the 8 frags I got from him have all been doing well.

Just my thoughts though. I admit that SPS are tougher to keep in the long run but the rewards just seem that much bigger.


My brain hurts. Yes stinging in a small tank is more of a concern but I did not want to get into SPS until I had more experience.

From your posting elsewhere did you just let Coral Master pick the 8 frags at random for you or did you search through his collection on-line or in person?

[Oscar]

Well my wife is firmly convinced I am a nerd (she was pretty sure about that before) since I started grabbing a beer, pulling up my viewing chair and watching the paint peel, er I mean watching the algae grow.

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh20/prairie56/DSC_3308s.jpg

All there is to see at this point are the hermits as they make the rounds but I am keeping my eye open for new critters including feather dusters as they pop up.


And a view from the viewing chair:

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh20/prairie56/DSC_3318s.jpg

[mseepman]

I trusted Greg to pick frags for me after telling him that I was interested in certain colors or aspects of the corals.

My brain hurts. Yes stinging in a small tank is more of a concern but I did not want to get into SPS until I had more experience.

From your posting elsewhere did you just let Coral Master pick the 8 frags at random for you or did you search through his collection on-line or in person?

[Oscar]

Well my birthday was a couple of days ago and I have some birthday money to burn. The tank has very nicely stabilized, a bit of algae to deal with but the 1 urchin and 5 hermits should be able to deal with it.

The question is fish or corals, which to add first? From everything I have read I should be adding corals slowly before fish. But fish will help to add to the bio load and improve the filtration system.

The Cad 39G is a bit misleading, after discounting for the 4 sump chambers in the back the display section is actually only 27G.

It has been suggested that I might want to concentrate on SPS so I do not need to worry about sweeping tentacles.

Now my wife was quite taken by some hammer coral, which if I keep near the front of the tank would give some room for the sweepers to do their thing. (happy wife happly life)

Also the LFS has some blue green chromis. Could I add just 2 of them to start my fish stocking?

I still have lots of flexibility with this tank and am looking forward to your input.

[brizzo]

A reef aint a reef without some lps and softies :P

You should get a goby or two instead of silly little chromis :)

[Oscar]

10 days ago I headed down to the coast for a series of meetings. To reduce evaporation and to finally get the algae under control I turned the hallides off for the four days but kept the actinics on their normal 12 hour cycle.

While in Vancouver I picked up more hardware, 3 astrea snails and 5 nassarius snails. For the first week all of the snails spent their time on the glass or rock surfaces. Yesterday some of the nassarius started to work on the sand substrate.

Yesterday I set up the JBL top-off device with a 4G bucket of water. It is just a temporary set up at this time. Once a week has gone by and I am confident that the system is working properly then I will set it up permanently. That requires putting the fresh water container in the corner directly behind the cabinet and out of sight.

I will soon be ordering my first corals starting with zoos, ricordia and GSP. After getting those established then I will be looking to add some corals that a pair of clowns might host in. But I will take Mseepman's suggestion to heart to keep room for a few SPS.

Since our house is south facing in the sunny and hot Okanagan the next test will be keeping the temperature to a non-fatal range in the summer. I will need to figure that out before adding fish.

[mseepman]

Not a bad plan at all. I see that Greg (Snappy) has an SPS sale going on right now so you might want to keep that in mind. Not that I'm trying to rush you...but you seem to have an amazing level of patience.

One thing to look at if you have temperature issues is the ICE Probe cooler. I'm debating getting it myself for my "someday to be finished nano tank" I would probably buy it from somewhere in the US or e-bay since it's a lot cheaper than sold here in BC.

[Oscar]

I am starting to get a bit antsy to move the tank along to the next "level". My patience is a combination of listening to warnings to take things slow and I am just too darned busy at my day job to more than have a beer and stare at the hermits in the evening.

ElGuappo's recent postings on his RSM are great food for thought. Now that the algae is knocked back it is definitely time to add some colour and movement.

Yeah the "cooler" technology looks very interesting but it seems that you need to drill a hole in your tank or sump to feed the probe in. I am not sure how or where to do that with a AIO tank.

[Marlin65]

I was told those ice probes don't work all that well better off buying a 1/10 hp chiller. Also I think those cadlights are all tempered so don't try to drill the glass. Not sure on this but better check first if you want to go that way down the road later.
Tank looks great, and I like the placement in your house.

[Oscar]

In the Cad39G water overflows are located in 2 locations. On the far right water flows into chamber 1 which in my case houses LR and a few bioballs. I added a sponge filter in this compartment to minimize the waterfall sound. It worked well from day 1 with the sponge siting directly on the top of the bioballs and wedged nicely into the space.

The 2nd overflow is in compartment 3 which is also the refugium. Due to the design there is about a 4-5" water drop and the waterfall sound was too much. I tried installing more sponges but the force of the waterfall dislodged them.

So I built this waterslide device from some plexiglass. It wedges in and hangs on the back glass. The light unit and skimmer were removed for installation.

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh20/prairie56/DSC_3336s.jpg

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh20/prairie56/DSC_3332s.jpg

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh20/prairie56/DSC_3335s.jpg

But as you can see there is still a small waterfall at the rear of the water slide. So I added an extension to the hanger until the rear end of the waterslide actually sits below the refugium water surface.

But I was still getting microbubbles so I added a small piece of sponge to the waterslide under the skimmer exit and that seems to do the trick. Now I have an almost silent water flow and most of the microbubbles are dealt with.

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh20/prairie56/DSC_3400s.jpg

The bar that you see in the above image is the refugium light. My next step is to adjust it until enough light enters the refugium to make it effective. The light may have to shine in from the back of the aquarium to ensure enough light gets in. That will require some testing.

[Oscar]

I was told those ice probes don't work all that well better off buying a 1/10 hp chiller. Also I think those cadlights are all tempered so don't try to drill the glass. Not sure on this but better check first if you want to go that way down the road later.
Tank looks great, and I like the placement in your house.

You are right, I was not thinking of drilling the glass. There is only one plastic divider and it separates the display section of the tank from the sump section.

But maybe I can rig something up to hang the probe into the water. What would be really nice is if you could just drop the probe into the water just like you do with a heater.

In regards to the location of the tank, all of our other wall space is full of furniture, art and other stuff so this was about the only location left. It is actually located in the corner of our kitchen next to the island, so we get to study it during meals.

Of course the beer fridge is not far away either.

[Oscar]

Here is what the top-off test looks like this week. Once I am confident I have the system working properly then the bucket, or perhaps a 5G water jug will be placed in the corner behind the tank. It is a tight fit but it will work.

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh20/prairie56/DSC_3398s.jpg

Then hopefully I will top-off the reservoir only once a week instead of 2X a day as I have been doing.

Refilling the reservoir will be a bit of a trick. I will try pumping water into the reservoir from another bucket. A bit of a pain but the whole idea is to hide as much of the hardware, wires, hoses etc.

Now for another beer and watch Spain vs Russia.

[Marlin65]

Looks great and looks like you put lots of thought into your tank.
Not sure what MH you are running but on my tank thats about the same size I had my temp jump up about 3-4 degree in about 4hrs of light. A ice probe is only rated for about 1-3 degree pull down if I remember right. I had put two holes in my sump to run two but you also need two controllers. So in the end it was cheaper to get a real chiller. It takes a Mag 5 to run though so you would need to run that water off the main tank somehow. Maybe a over the top drain and sump.

[Oscar]

Looks great and looks like you put lots of thought into your tank.
Not sure what MH you are running but on my tank thats about the same size I had my temp jump up about 3-4 degree in about 4hrs of light. A ice probe is only rated for about 1-3 degree pull down if I remember right. I had put two holes in my sump to run two but you also need two controllers. So in the end it was cheaper to get a real chiller. It takes a Mag 5 to run though so you would need to run that water off the main tank somehow. Maybe a over the top drain and sump.

Thinking is cheap. Fortunately the closest LFS is 1 1/2 hours away.

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Yeah I have a 150W hallide and I experience a similar temperature range. Thanks for the insight on the probe.

Until now I have been storing top-off water in the cabinet. Removing those bottles gives me a shelf I can dedicate to a chiller if necessary this summer. My carbon foot print is getting larger daily!

Now I really am going for that beer!

[mseepman]

Tank is looking really good Oscar. It's great to see this thread knowing that we spoke before you got into this hobby and already you've got a really nice tank, with a great setup.

Now that I was looking at the back of the tank...doesn't the Cadlights depend on that fan to do all the chilling? I think I've read that it drops the temp quite well even though you have the MH.

[Oscar]

Now that I was looking at the back of the tank...doesn't the Cadlights depend on that fan to do all the chilling? I think I've read that it drops the temp quite well even though you have the MH.

Yes the stock fan is very effective but painfully noisy. It interru[pted TV viewing in the nest room. It was also either on or off. CadLights now has a newer version of the fan whcih is supposed to be much quieter.

So I kept the fan box and replaced the internal with an Ice Caps variable speed fan. Almost silent and with a temperatue probe tha varies the speed based on air temperature. I have not really got it tweaked, the location of the probe needs adjustment.

[mseepman]

Hey Oscar, how's the temps holding up now that the outside temp in the Okanagan is finally rising. I know my tank is hotter than I like and I've got AC in my house.

[Oscar]

Hey Oscar, how's the temps holding up now that the outside temp in the Okanagan is finally rising. I know my tank is hotter than I like and I've got AC in my house.

I am very pleasantly suprised so far. Inside temperature right now is 73F. My tank for the past 2 weeks has been in the range of 78-82F with running the actinics for 12 hours a day and hallide for 10 hours.

I notice the forecast is for temps up to 35F for the next week and our rancher is south facing. I have an air conditioner that I can temporarily install in the window when necessary so this is going to be a major test.

I replaced the fan that came with the tank (it was way too noisy) with an Ice Caps variable speed fan. It has a temp probe that is installed between the water surface and the lighting unit. It is set to automatically come on the lowest setting at the same time that the hallide starts. The fan speed steps up as the air temperature increases. This fan is also super quiet which is a bonus.

I do have a 2nd fan that I received from CadLights. It is nearly silent although it is either on or off.

So next week I will shorten the time that the hallide is on and install the additional fan. In additon I have had a JBL top off setup so with all of this extra evaporation due to the fans, the salinity of the tank will stay relatively constant.

Next week will certainly be a big test.

[Oscar]

Lester the lobster molted again last night. That's the 2nd time in ~6 weeks. I think he likes his new home.


http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh20/prairie56/DSC_3437s.jpg

[Oscar]

I can't believe is was June when I last posted.

Since then:
- added two clowns
- clowns hosted with frog spawn
- new battle with algae
- installed top off system
- discovered a crab hitchiker

I discovered that I had a crab hitchiker only because I discovered his molt 6 weeks ago. I have tried to lure him out with food in a glass jar but no luck. Using a flashlight I discovered his little cave. So tomorrow I will extract the rock in question and try to "encourage" him to leave.

But while I am at it I will undertake a major aquascaping. I have concluded that I added too much rock to the tank. I created a large rock wall against the rear wall. It has losts of caves and tunnels but takes up too much space, limits corals to the front face and I can only clean the glass on 1 side.

So I am going to rearrange things into more of an "island" design. This means that some of the live rock will come out.


http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh20/prairie56/DSC_3549s.jpg

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh20/prairie56/DSC_3550s.jpg

As you can see I am also suffering from a new algae burst I think is primarily from my feeding of the clowns. It took me a while to figure out the feeding methodology but by that time I had spilled an awful lot of uneaten food into the tank. As Myka pointed out I may still be leaching phosphate from the rocks

[Oscar]

For the first couple of months I was manually topping off fresh water. As the heat in the Okanagan increased this summer mannual topping got very tedious. So I setup a topoff system using a 10G wine carboy. It was setup out front for a few weeks while I tested the system.

Once I was sure it was working I slid it down and behind the tank. I now refill it using a 2nd pump and hose which works pretty smoothly. So far I only need to refill the top off jug every 2 weeks.

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh20/prairie56/DSC_3552s.jpg

[Oscar]

Two weeks ago I was in Vernon and picked up the following snails to help me knock back some of the algae:
- 1 very large nassarius
- 5 astrea
- 5 cerith

I have also been actively pruning the hair algae as best I can. Each week I gather about 1 cup of hair algae. Between the pruning and the additional snails we are holding steady.

Following are photos from yesterday. It is difficult to see but there is a Koralia 1 in the centre of the rock.

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh20/prairie56/DSC_3588s.jpg

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh20/prairie56/DSC_3591s.jpg

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh20/prairie56/DSC_3592s.jpg

[RonPeter]

It's looking better! Where did you get the snails at? Thanks.

[Oscar]

I tackled the aquascaping today. The goal was to pull the rock away from the side glass to both improve flow and allow me to clean the glass along the side. I also moved the Koralia 1 to the top left of the tank, although it is very visible now it gives more options for flow.

Aquascaping is even more challenging when you already have some corals in place. I will study this new configuration for a few days. I will have to move a few corals. For example I am thinking of moving the GSP onto an "island" in the sand at the front of the tank. That will allow it to expand but keep it under check.

I like watching the pulsing xenia, and this stuff really pulses, but I now have an appreciation for what others have said about it's rapid spread. I will have to limit it to a single rock or allow it to climb the back wall. I have reconfigured it's primary colony to give it contact with the back wall.

Here are photos from this afternoon's aquascaping:

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh20/prairie56/DSC_3593s.jpg

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh20/prairie56/DSC_3594s.jpg

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh20/prairie56/DSC_3595s.jpg

[Oscar]

Where did you get the snails at? Thanks.

The astreas and ceriths came from AJ's. I was in town for a business meeting and while I was staring at a tank there was another fellow staring at the tank beside me. Turned out was Mseepman. Mark told me about the mondo sized nassarius at All Pet. Unfortunately Mark had cleaned out all but the one I picked up. Rats!

Not sure that the tank is looking all that better, but thanks, certainly the tank is looking more mature. Mark came by this morning and confirmed that the small 5 legged creatures that just appeared are sea stars. Always something new popping out.

[mseepman]

Hey Oscar,

Tank is looking good. It's a tough job re-aquascaping because we get used to what we had and what we liked...so I'm glad you plan to give this a few days to "soak in" before deciding if you like it or not.

It was great getting to visit and I really like the Cadlights tank...glad you ended up getting that one.

[Oscar]

Mark: Thanks for the input yesterday, some good food for thought.

Even after only a couple of hours I think I prefer the new aquascaping, one of the main reasons is that now I can clean all of the glass. Pulling the rock back also gives me 2 more surfaces for corals. Although I do not think it is obvious in the photos the rock looks more like "rubble" and not a wall.

I do need to do some minor adjustments, a couple of the ricordia are a little too hidden under rock for my liking. Either some rearanging or removing them from their existing rock and relocating them.

The one piece of left over rock I will probably bust up into smaller pieces to either create "islands", go into the refugia, or to replace the last of my bioballs in the rear chamber.

[mseepman]

So Grant, how is the new tank doing? You got a Seahare didn't you?

[Oscar]

So Grant, how is the new tank doing? You got a Seahare didn't you?

No sea hare yet. I have been trying to control the algae by every other means possible but no luck. I will see if I can get myself a sea hare in the new year.

Let me know if their are any sea hares in the Vernon LFS, I will be up there in the first week of January.

[mseepman]

Hey Grant, where's the lastest FTS before you get all these frags in there from Fragalot? It will be good to see a before and after shot.

[BlueAbyss]

Drill holes in a small covering plater over bioball chamber for better water distribution. I used an old CD cover. UV lamp Just fits into the chamber with the skimmer. I would have liked to put in a better skimmer but not enough room. An additional hydor1 in the tank improves circ alot.

To answer your earlier question, UV will indeed kill both the good and the bad. Don't run it (if you're going to run it at all) for the first 4 weeks or until your cycle is done. It really isn't needed.

With the HQI light on I did not need to add a heater.


And I'm assuming that you intend to run a heater anyways, even though your tank warms up during the day when the lights are on? What about at night, won't the tank cool overnight? Things should stay as close to 79 - 80 degrees both day and night, I would keep this in mind, or you might find the extreme temperature swings will just kill things... Also, marine tropical fish might not do well when the night temp drops.

[BlueAbyss]

Your little tank looks really sweet, I should look into an AIO. :lol:

[Oscar]

Yes I do need to get a FTS before the frags arrive next week.

There is a 75W heater in the final chamber. Temps range from 78 to ~82 in the heat of the summer.

My change to a Phoenix DE HQI hallide looks like it has solved my algae problem. It is much bluer thatn the original light. The original light was to far into the yellow spectrum. Now that I think the algae is solved I will remove the UV light.

[BlueAbyss]

My change to a Phoenix DE HQI hallide looks like it has solved my algae problem. It is much bluer thatn the original light. The original light was to far into the yellow spectrum. Now that I think the algae is solved I will remove the UV light.

So you like the Phoenix bulb? I've been wondering what bulb to use on my tank... do you find it very blue in general, or just compared to the other bulb (which could well have been a lower quality 10K or even a 6.5K bulb)?

[Oscar]

So you like the Phoenix bulb? I've been wondering what bulb to use on my tank... do you find it very blue in general, or just compared to the other bulb (which could well have been a lower quality 10K or even a 6.5K bulb)?

It is very blue. The original CadLights was a 14,500K as well. In addition I have 2 very blue Geisman actinics that really exagerate the blueness. But if it is helping me deal with the algae then I will put up with it for a few more months.

[mseepman]

Now that I know you went to a Phoenix, i really want to see the FTS. You should take one with the Giesmanns off and one with them on.

Depending on which frags you ordered, you might like how they "POP" under the blue.

[Oscar]

Now that I know you went to a Phoenix, i really want to see the FTS. You should take one with the Giesmanns off and one with them on.

Depending on which frags you ordered, you might like how they "POP" under the blue.


Now I am feeling peer pressure again! Actually I did take some photos of before and after Geismans. I will post those tonight. Yes the small number of frags I have at the moment definitely pop more with the Phoenix + Geismann.

It is kind of a relief to get the algae problem figured out. It is not completely solved but I think I am seeing some meaninful results after a 7 month battle.

Frags are arriving next week, so that will give me some additional time this weekend for more pruning etc.

[mseepman]

Hahaha...no pressure at all. I find that I don't take enough pics and now I wish I had taken more so that I could measure my progress.

[Oscar]

Hahaha...no pressure at all. I find that I don't take enough pics and now I wish I had taken more so that I could measure my progress.

My only progression since July is expansion of algae and xenia, both of which need pruning. Although I think the clowns are fatter.

[dcook]

any updates, Pictures?

[dcook]

Hello is this thing on?

[mseepman]

Haha..."Oscar" doesn't get on Canreef very often, I think he works a lot. I'm sure he'll answer you once he see's this.

I've seen the tank in person several times and he's done a really good job with it.